Can.



U. H. CAMPBELL.

CAN.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11, 1910.

1,1 20,276. Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

maiTnn sTATEs PATENT oTFToE.

CHARLES .H. CAMPBELL, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

CAN.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. CAMP- BELL, of Chelsea, in the county of Suffolk and State of'Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cans, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a can for the shipment of perishable goods, and particularly such delicate and perishable food articles as oysters and other shell fish which have been removed from their shells. For the shipment of such goods it is necessary that the containers in which they are placed be clean and sterile and may be closed tightly enough to revent leakage of the liquor of the shell 'sh and inward seepage of impurities.

Accordingly, my object in devising the present invention has been to provide a receptacle having these essential qualities, the possession of which is insured by the means which I have devised of securing the cover thereto. The cans when new are clean and fit for use, but after once being used they are unfitted for the purpose until thoroughly cleaned and sterilized. In order, therefore, to prevent second use of such a container and thereby danger of contaminating the oysters or other food supplies of similar nature packed therein, I have devised a mode of connection between the can and its cover which will insure the destruction of the cover when the can is opened, and thus prevent undetected second use of the can. As the can is thus limited to a single use or shipment, it is called a single trip can. Incidentally the elfect secured also guards against opening of the can and theft of any part of its contents by those employed in shipping or handling the can.

Another object also accomplished by my invention has been to make the can and cover construction of the greatest possible stiffness to resist the tendency of the fluid contents thereof to force the cover off when subjected to pressure enabling light and inexpensive stock to be used in its manufacture, and further to so fashion the can that its lip will be without sharp or ragged Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 19314.

edges, liable to cut the oysters or equally soft and delicate contents, when they are poured from the can.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a can by which the foregoing objects of my invention are reduced to practice.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the top of the can and its cover applied thereto and sealed in place. Fig. 2 repre seats a sectional view of the can and the cover on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on an enlarged scale through one of the sealing points of the can. Fig. l is a sectional view showing an additional seal for guarding against unlawful opening of the can. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing an attachment to the can for starting removal of the cover.

The can body is represented by a and is preferably made of tinned sheet metal, as thin as possible, consistent with the service required. The stock from which the body is made may be formed in any approved manner into the required shape, and secured to the bottom '6. The cover is represented by c and is set in place by being crowded into the open end of the can body. The body and cover together form what is known as a friction top can, the cover reinforcing and stiffening the can body and permitting lighter stock to be used in its construction than would be necessary if the ordinary outside slip cover were used. For additional stiffness the body may be provided with a reversed bead (Z surrounding it near its mouth, or with more than one such bead, although the employment of such beads is optional and not material to the present invention. The cover 0 is what is known as a plug cover, being formed with a peripheral flange e which makes contact with lip or flange surrounding the mouth of the can body over a considerable area and thus forms a frictional lock which alone exerts considerable force in retaining the cover in the can. The frictional engagement between the can body and cover flange, reinforced by the liquid seal caused by the liquor of the contents, closes the can securely enough for the purpose of as extended shipments and periods of storage as the nature of the goods permits.

In order to lock the cover so securely in the can as to prevent its unauthorized removal, and in fact to prevent its removal at all. without more or less complete destruction, and also to insure against undetected second use of the can, I provide a tuberances are formed in a single operation and one is formed inside of the other. These may be made so as to project outwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, or in the opposite direction, according to the manner in which the tool is used. In any case, however, one of the two elements composed of the cover flange and can lip has formed upon it an integral. offset which is contained in a corresponding offset in the other of these elements. The shape of the tool for making the offsets is such that the offsets or protuberances are formed with sides as nearly as possible perpendicular to the adjacent surface from which theyproject, and they project as far as permitted by the strength and ductility of the metal, which is farther than the rim of the can or the flange of the cover can be displaced with out permanent distortion. That is, to employ a term of applied mechanics, the eX- tent of the protuberances is greater than the possible amount of distortion of the can body and cover flange which can be pro duced within the limits of elasticity of the material, so that in order to remove the cover either the can body or the cover, or both, must be distorted beyond the elastic limit and permanently" bent or broken, or cut. The metal which is distorted to form the protuberance g'is thus distorted beyond the elastic limit and receives a permanent set. The sheet metal used for such cans is sufficiently ductile to enable the protuberances so formed to project farther than the cover flange or can body can be distorted elastically. The protuberances thus formed constitute integral hollow rivets on one of the elements above described contained in recesses of the other element. These fastenings are intentionally made so abrupt that they can not be withdrawn from the cooperating sockets without either being broken or sheared off themselves, or without causing such distortion, or shearing of the can cover as will prevent itssecond use. In particular the formation of the fastening elements in the can body is such as to make it impossible to apply a new cover and secure it in this manner without making the substitution plainly evident. In

order to increase this effect, some of the fastenings are directed outwardly and others inwardly, and in regard to the inwardly directed fastenings, it is obviously impossible for a cooperating protuberance on a new cover to register therewith in such manner as to avoid detection.

In connection with the integral fastenings I propose to use a seal in the nature of a wire it passed through registering holes in the can body and cover, the end of such wire being caught in .a disk 2', theflnature of which is similar to that of the ordinary lead and wire seal. As shown in the drawings, the edge of the can body is turned over to form an outward bead j presenting a smooth surface to the contents of the can when they are poured out, and thus eliminating sharp edges which would be liableto out such soft articles as oysters.

Another feature of value and importance to the can is an attachment which I provide for assisting in starting the cover when the same is to be stripped ofl. The cover as above described is so securely held that in order to permit of its being pried 01f when the'can is finally to be opened, I provide one or more brackets 70 which are attached to the lip of the can on the outside, and each of which supplies a fulcrum for an instrument such as a screwdriver in-,

serted under the lip of the cover flange. There may be one, two or any number of such brackets attached to the can, preferably as shown in Fig. 5, being shaped to fit around the bead of the can and soldered thereto, and having a brace portion soldered to the side of the can.

I claim,

l. A single trip can comprising a body having an open end, a friction top set into such open end and having a flange fitting closely within the lip of the can body, said flange and lip having interengaging integral rivet like projections, approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal elements of the can, the sides of which are abrupt, and the lengths greater than the amount by which the flange or lip can spring at the points where such projections are formed, whereby to prevent removal of the cover in an intact condition.

2. A can having an opening and a' lip surrounding said opening, and a cover having a flange concentric with said lip and making a close fit therewith, the flange and lip forming frictional engaging elements, In testimony whereof I have afiixed my the illnatei'ial of (imebof slic eleimellilts belilng signature, in presence of two witnesses.

oca y istorte a rupty an t e 0t er element having an alined. recess containing CHARLES CAMPBELL 5 such distorted portion, into which the lat- Witnesses:

ter projects a distance greater than the ARTHUR H. BROWN,

amount either element is able to spring. P. W. PEzzETI.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addreuin: the "Commissioner or l'atenta,

, Waehlngton, D. 0." 

